THAT DAMN BORDERLINE

THAT DAMN BORDERLINE

Sound art, improvisation, composition and the stuff in between.

This project aims at investigating the borderline between sound art and music. It gathers different artistic subjects active in the field of sound art, installation practices, composition, electronic music, performance and improvisation.

Various debates have been taking place about what sound art is, and what discriminates a sound art work from a traditionally composed piece of music. “That damn borderline” examinates these issues both on a theoretical level and by putting into play a concrete creative process.

A study day will articulate the most theoretical part of the project, where the artistic figures involved will share and discuss their approach to the borderline. The discussion will cover some of these topics:

The different relationships of the artist with the sonic material. How does the composer or the sound artist approach the compositional process?

Active and passive listening. What does the artist expect from the audience?

Site-specificity in sound art and music. Does absolute art still exist?

How does the context (venue, technology, history) push the boundaries between sound art and music?

Sound objects and sounding objects: when the sound takes the shape of a thing.

Regarding these themes, new works have been composed by artists whose artistic approach shows a tendency to oscillate between these two extremes: on one hand the traditionally written music, based on a grammar which the European compositional practice of centuries has shaped, and on the other hand the process of creation typical of sound art, of improvisation, of field recording and so on, involving a different design and experience of the sonic object.